After the tsunami, Pongal has lost a lot of its liveliness. In an attempt to spread some cheer this festive season, Tamil cinema is going ahead with some major releases.
A film that is creating a lot of buzz is Vijay's Thirupachi, mainly because he is paired with Trisha, his heroine in Gilli, last year's biggest money-spinner. For statisticians, this is Vijay's 40th film, and his fifth with producer R B Chowdhary of Supergood films.
Vijay is an actor who does not like to experiment. So far, nobody knows how bad this predictability is, as his films usually do well at the box office. Thirupachi is also a film with action, romance, dance and vendetta -- all the ingredients necessary to a typical commercial film.
Vijay plays Sivagiri, a young man from a family that makes sickles. While Trisha is Vijay's love interest, Mallika, who played an important role in Cheran's Autograph, plays Vijay's sister. What is a Vijay movie without some brother-sister sentiment?
Anyway, the stakes are high, and so are the expectations.
Text: Shobha Warrier
Design: Uday Kuckian